Guwahati: Data-driven study launched to tackle city’s parking, vending woes

Staff reporter

Guwahati: In a fresh attempt to address Guwahati’s chronic urban disorder, the Assam Town and Country Planning Department has launched a comprehensive study targeting the city’s long-standing parking and street vending problems.

The initiative, officials said, will be more data-driven than past efforts, with traffic flow analysis, pedestrian movement mapping, market footfall studies, and economic dependency assessments forming its core. The study, expected to be completed within six months, will focus on congested corridors such as GS Road.

Critics, however, remain sceptical, pointing to past failures like the underutilized multilevel parking facility at Panbazar, which was built to decongest the core commercial zone but continues to be ignored in favour of on-street parking.

The consequences of unregulated vending and haphazard parking have been severe. Ambulances are often trapped in traffic snarls, particularly along GS Road. “It’s a nightmare during peak hours. We’ve had instances where critical patients were stuck for 15 to 20 minutes because the ambulance couldn’t move,” said Bipul Kakoti, a private sector employee.

Urban planners argue that piecemeal solutions cannot succeed without integrated planning. “You cannot solve parking without solving vending. You cannot solve vending without creating alternative livelihoods. And none of this will work without proper law enforcement,” said a city resident.

In recent months, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has intensified night-time drives against illegal vending and encroachments under flyovers and footpaths. But residents remain unconvinced. “You evict them in the morning, and they’re back by afternoon. Why? Because you’ve not provided any designated space for them to earn a livelihood. Regulation is not just about removal — it’s about rehabilitation and planning,” said another citizen.

Acknowledging these concerns, an official from the Town and Country Planning Department said: “We are studying all the chaotic roads of the city like GS Road where proper vending zones and parking areas can be identified without troubling commuters and traffic.”

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